Restorations
Restoration in Berlin '''has been an ongoing endeavor for Germans (and their Prussian ancestors) for centuries. Many of the old castles, palaces and fortresses across Germany have been either preserved, restored or completely rebuilt to their once great glory. Berlin is a grand partaker in this preservitist's vision of the future (past?), with more recent public and private restoration works in progress than any other German city. The city with its six districts, once encompassed four nations and two governments, which greatly colored its architecture and cultural attitudes. Even decades before that, Berlin was a mixing of neighborly towns swallowed up by the increasing population and industrial fortitude of the German spirit. With its explosive recent history, and modern appeal for strict record keeping, many of Berlin's recent (last 150 years) restoration projects are in a very bright lime-light. Today it is possible to identify several periods of restoration simultaneously for some buildings like counting rings on a tree stump, and yet others still remain works in progress. Dating back to 1791, when the famed '''Brandenburg Gate was constructed for the main entrance to the now destroyed city castle of the Prussian Kings, the Quadriga crowning the top of the gate was stolen outright by Napoleon marching triumphantly into Berlin. He took it back with him to France as a spoil of war in 1806. Later in 1814, renowned German architect Friedrich Schinkel replaced the statue piece with a revised version that was rededicated in 1991, and restored in 2000. During the time of the Wall (1961-1989) in Berlin, the gate's representation changed in regards to its symbolic meaning. At the time, its proximity to the wall enlisted a depiction of division between the East and West sides. The gate was 'closed' in other words, which made the imagery much more powerful after the walls destruction. The gate today is seen as a symbol of reunification in Berlin and therefore has been 'restored' to some degree of its once great symbolic glory. The "Berliner Dom" as it's locally called, has gone through not only a physical restoration and rebuilding of, but also an intense level of ownership and name changing. As the name might imply. the cathedral started out as a Roman Catholic Church, but the church seen today is not any part of that history whatsoever. It does not even share the same land where the generations of churches before it once stood. In fact, this church building itself never was a Catholic cathedral. It wasn't until 1930 when the first Catholic diocese of Berlin was finally established, which was very much later than when this church was built. The church was initially realized in 1465 as a chapel, but was soon added onto along the years of 1469, 1535 & 1538. In 1545, the electoral family of Hohenzollern used the church building as a place of burial. In 1667, the facade was torn down, and replaced with a baroque facade. Eventually though, the whole church was torn down in 1747 to make room for the extension of the neighboring Berlin Castle. This too was destroyed, and now sits an 1893 reimagining of a neo-Renaissance stlye building, completely unique in its layout. Of course, also the allied bombings during WWII, destroying the domes, windows and many other parts of the church, but all was eventually restored by 1993, when the whole of the church was finally opened to the public again. The Church today remains a protestant Evangelical Church. Surley the synoptic history lesson above truly shows the immensity of retoration efforts enigmatic of the German populace well before they even considered themselves German. What is most surprising here though, is the level of effort at which a building like this gets recognition and respect. More or less, the remaining cathedrals of Berlin, and indeed the whole of Germany, sit in a very low wrung of the ladder of authority. But many see these buildings as cathedrals to history, which in a larger sense would inspire respect, even from the foriegner's perspective, these "palaces of solitude and respect" deserve attention for their commitment to enduring the ages. They are pinnacles of generations past, wanting to preserve something for the generations yet to come. The stand as functional monuments to a healthy system of self-identity and past recognition. Many of the purposes within transcend the average non church-goer, and outstretched arms reach out to those with a curious mind begging them to partake of the tree of historical knowledge. At the heart of some of these churches lies the will to outlast the torment and misfortune some eras enforce.